TSN: Pierre LeBrun says that teams are taking a look at Brock Boeser and seeing if they could fit in his contract that has two years left at $6.65 million. There are some teams that don’t have much room this year, as well in future years.
“There is one team I believe that is pretty serious about getting involved if the Canucks willing to eat part of Boeser’s contract. But at this stage of the process, I don’t think Vancouver wants to do that. Clearing some serious cap space has to be a very important part of any trade involving Boeser from the Canucks’ perspective.
So agent Ben Hankinson continues to talk to teams he’s talked to more than half a dozen teams since last week. I don’t think this thing is imminent and I think it’s going to take a lot of work between now and the March 3 NHL trade deadline.”
Sportsnet: Elliotte Friedman on Monday’s The Jeff Marek Show: Is Mitch Marner’s Streak. “The Streak”? on the Vancouver Canucks and Brock Boeser.
** NHLRumors.com transcription
Marek: “You mentioned Brock Boeser, and that was a big report on Saturday about his camp being allowed to call around and try and help facilitate a trade.
I know it hasn’t exactly been the best of all possible seasons for Brock Boeser and I completely understand, having lost parents myself, what that first year is like. So I always look at players who have significant losses. You look at Adam Larsson, what happened with the Edmonton Oilers and now you see Brock Boeser with his father Duke. So I always look at that following season and all the anniversaries hit and say, ‘okay, this is going to be really challenging season.’ It’s almost as if you get a mulligan year.
I’m curious from your point of view, what do you think the market is like for Brock Boeser right now?
Friedman: “It’s tough. I mean, Boeser I think as much as anybody else, he has to play better too. I made a point of saying that both on Saturday night and in the pod today.
It’s incumbent on two things. It’s incumbent on the team to try and find a fit, and it’s incumbent on the player to bring their best. He’s struggled this year. I don’t think there any sugarcoating that. He has to play better too.
I think this comes down to a couple of different things. No. 1, what the interest is, and No. 2, what Vancouver is willing to do.
I don’t think you’re going to find too many teams who will say. ‘okay, give us the full deal’ without Vancouver agreeing to do something. Whether it’s taking a contract back or take a minimal return back.
I do think Vancouver is prepared to, I don’t like the word ‘lose’ the trade. I think that’s, I think about a question you asked Kelly McCrimmon when we interviewed him on the pod about how cap space is a valuable thing. I think Vancouver is prepared to take less of a return obviously if it can free up some cap space.
But these things are a challenge. The thing that is interesting about this is, there’s a lot of talk about what does it mean when the agent is involved? Does it mean that you can’t do it cause there is no will to do it out there? I think in this particular case it’s also an understanding that, I think everybody realizes a change of scenery might be very beneficial and when you’re running a team, you’ve got a billion things going on and sometimes you can hand it to somebody who their sole focus is doing that.
Now, he can’t make a trade, Ben Hankinson on his own, the Canucks still have to approve it. The Canucks still have to say yes. But sometimes it’s good to get someone in there whose sole focus is doing that. Now, again, I think it comes down to what Vancouver might be willing to do.
I know a lot of people are wondering about Minnesota. I think the problem with Minnesota is. they’re very careful about adding any term and I think if they’re going to add term, it’s going to have to be in a way that’s advantageous to them.”